The £30,000 Baillie Gifford prize (formerly known as the Samuel Johnson prize) is the UK’s most prestigious award for nonfiction writing. This year’s shortlist has been revealed.

Chair of Judges, Sir Peter Bazalgette, says: ‘The exceptional shortlist for the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize covers religion, culture, science and sexuality… and that’s just for starters. But what all the six books have in common is that they’re incredibly well-written, they’re really enjoyable and they tell great stories.’

The 2017 shortlist includes:

The Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason by Christopher de BellaigueHow to Survive A Plague by David FranceBorder: A Journey to The Edge of Europe by Kapka KassabovaAn Odyssey: A Father, A Son and An Epic by Daniel MendelsohnTo Be A Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death by Mark O’ConnellBelonging: The Story of The Jews, 1492-1900 by Simon SchamaEach of the shortlisted authors will receive £1,000 and the 2017 winner will be announced on 16 November.